Directional migration in the Hindu castes: inferences from mitochondrial, autosomal and Y-chromosomal data

Human Genetics
Stephen P WoodingLynn B Jorde

Abstract

Genetic, ethnographic, and historical evidence suggests that the Hindu castes have been highly endogamous for several thousand years and that, when movement between castes does occur, it typically consists of females joining castes of higher social status. However, little is known about migration rates in these populations or the extent to which migration occurs between caste groups of low, middle, and high social status. To investigate these aspects of migration, we analyzed the largest collection of genetic markers collected to date in Hindu caste populations. These data included 45 newly typed autosomal short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs), 411 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequence, and 43 Y-chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms that were assayed in more than 200 individuals of known caste status sampled in Andrah Pradesh, in South India. Application of recently developed likelihood-based analyses to this dataset enabled us to obtain genetically derived estimates of intercaste migration rates. STRPs indicated migration rates of 1-2% per generation between high-, middle-, and low-status caste groups. We also found support for the hypothesis that rates of gene flow differ between maternally and paternally inherited genes...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 1, 2006·Human Genetics·Tatiana ZerjalChris Tyler-Smith
May 5, 2009·Genome Research·Jinchuan XingLynn B Jorde
Aug 30, 2005·Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics·Brigitte Pakendorf, Mark Stoneking
Feb 8, 2011·PloS One·Vanessa R Paixão-CôrtesMaria Cátira Bortolini
Dec 21, 2011·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Efthymia NikitaMarta Mirazón Lahr
Jun 26, 2012·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Trevor J PembertonPragna I Patel
Oct 30, 2015·Journal of Human Genetics·Neetu NegiKumarasamy Thangaraj
Nov 4, 2005·Annals of Human Genetics·W S WatkinsL B Jorde
Dec 13, 2005·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Alain GagnonEvelyne Heyer
Mar 15, 2006·Human Heredity·Guido Barbujani, Elise M S Belle
Feb 18, 2006·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Sanghamitra Sahoo, V K Kashyap
Jan 23, 2021·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Aritra BosePeristera Paschou

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